Panuku Development Auckland

Making places that put a smile on people’s faces

16 December 2016

The most valuable tools in our shed to create successful spaces are open minds, creative thinking and good sets of eyes and ears.

Realising the importance of creating good and healthy public spaces, Panuku adopted placemaking as a key tool within its urban development work. Placemaking is globally recognised as a ‘multi-faceted approach to the planning, design and management of public spaces’. A place needs to be able to speak for itself while also identifying with the people who use it. Placemaking is a mechanism that is crafted around the art of collaboration, and needs to reflect and respond to communities and where connections to place should lie. Human experiences are what give any place or space a heart and soul. It is in the best interests of placemaking and city buildings to create a platform that will allow for these experiences to flourish.

We know the people, places and spaces are ever changing due to population growth, climate change and socio-economic factors. It is essential in the development of spaces to never end a plan with a full stop but rather to always plan for constant change. The results of our placemaking speak for themselves with great successes in Wynyard Quarter. This was once purely an industrial public space that now swims in colours and thrives with life and people. We have a constant stream of activations including Silo Cinemas, Silo Markets and Workshops on the Wharf.

We interact with the community through our community garden in Daldy Street and play spaces designed for both children and adults. Wynyard Quarter is now a loved and well used part of Auckland and we plan to carry on this successful approach in the other locations that Panuku is working in.

Placemaking requires fearlessness and risk taking with the desired result of nurturing resilience and connection through the use of good healthy public spaces that can be used and appreciated by people from all walks of life. As someone wise once said, we can all be in the same library even though you might be in non-fiction while I’m in the romance novels.